Joshua 10 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: One in Christ - April 14, 2022

Imagine the scene at the cross. Soldiers huddled in a circle, dice-throwing—casting lots for the possessions of Christ. Common soldiers witnessing the world’s most uncommon event. Just another criminal. The cross is forgotten.

It makes me think of us. The religious. Those who claim heritage at the cross. All of us. The strict. The loose. The simple. The Spirit-filled. Evangelical. All of us. We’re not so unlike these soldiers. We, too, play games at the foot of the cross. We compete for members. We scramble for status. Competition. Selfishness. Personal gain. It’s all there. We major in the trivial, we split into little huddles. Another name. Another doctrine. So close to the cross but so far from the Christ.

“May they all be one,” Jesus prayed. One. Not one in groups of two thousand. One church. One faith. One Lord. No hierarchies. No traditions. Just Christ.

Joshua 10

The Five Kings

It wasn’t long before My-Master-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had taken Ai and destroyed it and its king under a holy curse, just as he had done to Jericho and its king. He also learned that the people of Gibeon had come to terms with Israel and were living as neighbors. He and his people were alarmed: Gibeon was a big city—as big as any with a king and bigger than Ai—and all its men were seasoned fighters.

3-4 Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent word to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon: “Come and help me. Let’s attack Gibeon; they’ve joined up with Joshua and the People of Israel.”

5 So the five Amorite (Western) kings—the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon—combined their armies and set out to attack Gibeon.

6 The men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua camped at Gilgal, “Don’t let us down now! Come up here quickly! Save us! Help us! All the Amorite kings who live up in the hills have ganged up on us.”

7-8 So Joshua set out from Gilgal, his whole army with him—all those tough soldiers! God told him, “Don’t give them a second thought. I’ve put them under your thumb—not one of them will stand up to you.”

9-11 Joshua marched all night from Gilgal and took them by total surprise. God threw them into total confusion before Israel, a major victory at Gibeon. Israel chased them along the ridge to Beth Horon and fought them all the way down to Azekah and Makkedah. As they ran from the People of Israel, down from the Beth Horon ridge and all the way to Azekah, God pitched huge stones on them out of the sky and many died. More died from the hailstones than the People of Israel killed with the sword.

12-13 The day God gave the Amorites up to Israel, Joshua spoke to God, with all Israel listening:

“Stop, Sun, over Gibeon;
Halt, Moon, over Aijalon Valley.”
And Sun stopped,
Moon stood stock still
Until he defeated his enemies.

13-14 (You can find this written in the Book of Jashar.) The sun stopped in its tracks in mid sky; just sat there all day. There’s never been a day like that before or since—God took orders from a human voice! Truly, God fought for Israel.

15 Then Joshua returned, all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

16-17 Meanwhile the five kings had hidden in the cave at Makkedah. Joshua was told, “The five kings have been found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah.”

18-19 Joshua said, “Roll big stones against the mouth of the cave and post guards to keep watch. But don’t you hang around—go after your enemies. Cut off their retreat. Don’t let them back into their cities. God has given them to you.”

20-21 Joshua and the People of Israel then finished them off, total devastation. Only a few got away to the fortified towns. The whole army then returned intact to the camp and to Joshua at Makkedah. There was no criticism that day from the People of Israel!

22 Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring me those five kings.”

23 They did it. They brought him the five kings from the cave: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon.

24 When they had them all there in front of Joshua, he called up the army and told the field commanders who had been with him, “Come here. Put your feet on the necks of these kings.”

They stepped up and put their feet on their necks.

25 Joshua told them, “Don’t hold back. Don’t be timid. Be strong! Be confident! This is what God will do to all your enemies when you fight them.”

26-27 Then Joshua struck and killed the kings. He hung them on five trees where they remained until evening. At sunset Joshua gave the command. They took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden. They put large stones at the mouth of the cave. The kings are still in there.
No Survivors

28 That same day Joshua captured Makkedah, a massacre that included the king. He carried out the holy curse. No survivors. Makkedah’s king got the same treatment as Jericho’s king.

29-30 Joshua, all Israel with him, moved on from Makkedah to Libnah and fought against Libnah. God gave Libnah to Israel. They captured city and king and massacred the lot. No survivors. Libnah’s king got the same treatment as Jericho’s king.

31-32 Joshua, all Israel with him, moved on from Libnah to Lachish. He set up camp nearby and attacked. God gave Lachish to Israel. Israel took it in two days and killed everyone. He carried out the holy curse, the same as with Libnah.

33 Horam, king of Gezer, arrived to help Lachish. Joshua attacked him and his army until there was nothing left of them. No survivors.

34-35 Joshua, all Israel with him, moved on from Lachish to Eglon. They set up camp and attacked. They captured it and killed everyone, carrying out the holy curse, the same as they had done with Lachish.

36-37 Joshua, all Israel with him, went up from Eglon to Hebron. He attacked and captured it. They killed everyone, including its king, its villages, and their people. No survivors, the same as with Eglon. They carried out the holy curse on city and people.

38-39 Then Joshua, all Israel with him, turned toward Debir and attacked it. He captured it, its king, and its villages. They killed everyone. They put everyone and everything under the holy curse. No survivors. Debir and its king got the same treatment as Hebron and its king, and Libnah and its king.

* * *

40-42 Joshua took the whole country: hills, desert, foothills, and mountain slopes, including all kings. He left no survivors. He carried out the holy curse on everything that breathed, just as God, the God of Israel, had commanded. Joshua’s conquest stretched from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza and from the entire region of Goshen to Gibeon. Joshua took all these kings and their lands in a single campaign because God, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.

43 Then Joshua, all Israel with him, went back to the camp at Gilgal.

* * *

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Thursday, April 14, 2022

Today's Scripture
John 13:21–32

     After he said these things, Jesus became visibly upset, and then he told them why. “One of you is going to betray me.”

22–25     The disciples looked around at one another, wondering who on earth he was talking about. One of the disciples, the one Jesus loved dearly, was reclining against him, his head on his shoulder. Peter motioned to him to ask who Jesus might be talking about. So, being the closest, he said, “Master, who?”

26–27     Jesus said, “The one to whom I give this crust of bread after I’ve dipped it.” Then he dipped the crust and gave it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot. As soon as the bread was in his hand, Satan entered him.

“What you must do,” said Jesus, “do. Do it and get it over with.”

28–29     No one around the supper table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that since Judas was their treasurer, Jesus was telling him to buy what they needed for the Feast, or that he should give something to the poor.

30     Judas, with the piece of bread, left. It was night.

A New Command

31–32     When he had left, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is seen for who he is, and God seen for who he is in him. The moment God is seen in him, God’s glory will be on display. In glorifying him, he himself is glorified—glory all around!

Insight

John is the only gospel writer who tells us that Jesus washed the feet of His disciples on the eve of His crucifixion (13:1–5). John is also the only one who tells us that Jesus knew from the beginning which of His disciples would betray Him (v. 11). Yet Judas was so trusted by the group that they allowed him to be the keeper of their money. In fact, even when Jesus identified Judas as the one who would betray Him, the group may have trusted him so much that they didn’t even understand what Jesus was saying (v. 29). By: Mart DeHaan

“And It Was Night”

As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.
John 13:30

Elie Wiesel’s book Night starkly confronts us with the horrors of the Holocaust. Based on his own experiences in Nazi death camps, Wiesel’s account flips the biblical story of the Exodus. While Moses and the Israelites escaped slavery at the first Passover (Exodus 12), Wiesel tells of the Nazis arresting Jewish leaders following Passover.

Lest we criticize Wiesel and his dark irony, consider that the Bible contains a similar plot twist. On the night of Passover, Jesus, expected to free God’s people from suffering, instead permits Himself to be arrested by those who would kill Him.

John ushers us into the holy scene before Jesus’ arrest. “Troubled in spirit” over what awaited Him, at the Last Supper Jesus predicted His betrayal (John 13:21). Then, in an act we can scarcely comprehend, Christ served His betrayer bread. The account reads: “As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night” (v. 30). History’s greatest injustice was underway, yet Jesus declared, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him” (v. 31). In a few hours, the disciples would experience panic, defeat, and dejection. But Jesus saw God’s plan unfolding as it should.

When it seems as though the darkness is winning, we can recall that God faced His dark night and defeated it. He walks with us. It won’t always be night. By:  Tim Gustafson

Reflect & Pray

When have you experienced panic, loss of hope, and despair? How would you describe how you felt after you came through that dark experience?

Thank You, Jesus, for keeping Your Father’s plan in view when You went through the steps to the cross. Thank You for conquering death for us.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, April 14, 2022

Inner Invincibility

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me… —Matthew 11:29

“Whom the Lord loves He chastens…” (Hebrews 12:6). How petty our complaining is! Our Lord begins to bring us to the point where we can have fellowship with Him, only to hear us moan and groan, saying, “Oh Lord, just let me be like other people!” Jesus is asking us to get beside Him and take one end of the yoke, so that we can pull together. That’s why Jesus says to us, “My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). Are you closely identified with the Lord Jesus like that? If so, you will thank God when you feel the pressure of His hand upon you.

“…to those who have no might He increases strength” (Isaiah 40:29). God comes and takes us out of our emotionalism, and then our complaining turns into a hymn of praise. The only way to know the strength of God is to take the yoke of Jesus upon us and to learn from Him.

“…the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). Where do the saints get their joy? If we did not know some Christians well, we might think from just observing them that they have no burdens at all to bear. But we must lift the veil from our eyes. The fact that the peace, light, and joy of God is in them is proof that a burden is there as well. The burden that God places on us squeezes the grapes in our lives and produces the wine, but most of us see only the wine and not the burden. No power on earth or in hell can conquer the Spirit of God living within the human spirit; it creates an inner invincibility.

If your life is producing only a whine, instead of the wine, then ruthlessly kick it out. It is definitely a crime for a Christian to be weak in God’s strength.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

Re-state to yourself what you believe, then do away with as much of it as possible, and get back to the bedrock of the Cross of Christ.  My Utmost for His Highest, November 25, 848 R

Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 25-26; Luke 12:32-59

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, April 14, 2022

Still There After the Storm - #9199

The land is flat around Joplin, Missouri. And then after the great tornado that hit there, much of the town was leveled by that F-5. It was just heartbreaking devastation as far as the eye could see. But you know what? In the midst of all that devastation, there was still one thing still standing. A reporter commented on it as the camera scanned across this sea of wreckage, and you couldn't miss it. It was a cross, and his words went right to my heart, "The church is gone, but the cross is still standing."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Still There After the Storm."

My mind flashed back to a brutally painful funeral that I attended years ago. It was on an Indian reservation; it was in this windswept graveyard out in the middle of nowhere. The young man we buried died a sudden and violent death. He'd been on one of our Native teams actually. And as Indian men filed by that open grave to throw that handful of dirt on a coffin, I watched that young man's brother, who we knew and loved very well. I watched him do something he seldom if ever did. He was weeping.

But there was a simple rugged, wooden cross at the head of that open grave. And this grieving brother was hanging onto that cross and hugging it like it was his only hope. His brother was gone, but the cross was still standing. It was still there for him to hang onto with everything he had.

Well, our word for today from the Word of God is from Hebrews 6:19. The cross of Jesus has been, for millions, the only hope still standing after the storm has leveled everything else. I've seen it more times than I can count. I've seen it in my own life when the love of my life since I was 19 was suddenly gone, but the cross was still there. Your health is gone, maybe your job is gone, your money is gone, your anchor person is gone, all medical hope is gone, but still, there is in Jesus as it says in this verse, "this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."

The cross still stands, proclaiming that God still loves me when it's too dark to see His face. The cross is there, assuring me I'm forgiven when the guilt and the regret are trying to drag me into their pit. The cross remains, reminding me that Jesus has beaten death when death seems to be winning. The cross stands tall, declaring "This is not the end. There is a future beyond this darkness, and I'll be there to build that future with you."

I wonder, have you ever personally gone to that cross where Jesus loved you so very much that He bled and died for your sin? Have you ever gone there and said those two words that make this cross your anchor; your one sure thing, the words, "Jesus, for me"? In the words of the Bible, "He loved me and gave Himself for me." Have you ever gone and said, "Jesus, I believe what You did there was for my sin, and I no longer want to live one more day without You in my life. I want to be forgiven, and only You can do that. I want to go to heaven, and only You can take me there. I want the hole in my heart filled, and it was made by You and for You, and only You can fill it. So, Jesus, beginning today I'm yours."

I've put on our website in several forms some information that will show you how to begin life's most important relationship on the road to that cross and on the road to being forgiven. The website is ANewStory.com. I pray you'll check it out today soon.

Yeah, life has its nearly unbearable Good Fridays. But Good Friday isn't the end. Remember, it's the long night before the blazing sun of Easter morning.